Whatever next!
This week we celebrated Space Week UK, and the theme was “Living in Space.”
This half term, we are exploring the enquiry question: “What’s in My World?” — encouraging children to think about themselves, their families, and the world around them. We have been learning about our homes, our school, our environment, and the people who help us. To build on this learning, this week we are now extending the concept of “my world” into a wider context by exploring space and what it might be like to live beyond Earth.
We are asking questions like: “What is Earth?”, “Is Earth the only planet?”, “Could we live somewhere else?” and “What would we need to survive in space?” Through stories, role-play, art, and discussion, children are developing their understanding of the differences between Earth and space. We are learning about astronauts, space travel, and how people might live on the Moon or other planets — linking our understanding of homes, routines, and communities to a completely different environment.
By making these connections, children are beginning to understand that their world is part of a much bigger universe. This enquiry supports their curiosity, imagination, and awareness of their place in the wider world.
The children had a fantastic time exploring what life might be like beyond our planet. We read Whatever Next! and imagined what it would be like to live on the Moon. Then, we designed our own space homes and thought about what a world in space might look like.
Throughout the week, our continuous provision was packed with exciting space-themed activities.
The children joined astronaut training, escaped from aliens, and learned to freeze when an alien appeared! They also worked together to create a “killer” alien shot using great teamwork and imagination.
In Forest School, we became rocket engineers. Using sticks, we built our own rockets and tested how far they could travel. Afterwards, we made changes to our designs to see if we could make them go even further.
In Maths, we explored astronaut helmets, comparing which were the biggest and smallest. We also investigated space rocks, discovering which were the heaviest and which were the lightest through hands-on exploration. It’s been an out-of-this-world week full of learning, imagination, and fun!
